Top 7

FeelingStream

“Creating a world where each customer is heard and truly understood.”

Elevator pitch:

FeelingStream helps enterprises with large contact centres streamline customer experience by responding to the high-priority inquires faster.We achieve this by applying deep linguistic analysis to text, identifying the subject and tone of each customer inquiry. This allows the customer service representative to immediately respond to any inquiries that are deemed high-priority. As well as creating a better customer experience, highlighting important emails in this fashion allows businesses to gain new sales or react to any early signals about clients potentially leaving.

Problem: Contact centres for large enterprises and service providers face the daily challenge of unanswered customer inquiries getting queued up for several days, if not longer. As a rule of thumb, emails are dealt with a FIFO ((First-In-First-Out) principle, meaning that inquiries with an earlier date get a response sooner.

As mission-critical inquiries such as sales requests or complaints get pushed back, this can pose a risk to businesses. Having to wait for a response will prompt the client to call customer service, which could lead to two operators to deal with the same request. Customer satisfaction will be impacted and could result in negative public feedback or the client opting for a competitor.

Solution: FeelingStream’s product is based on Artificial Intelligence which can read client inquiries and understand its content and sentiment. This forms a basis for determining the order of response; for example, inquiries conveying a desire to purchase something will be dealt with quicker. Furthermore, the FeelingStream application offers a detailed real-time overview of the topics and sentiment for all processed inquiries.

User base: Today, we have two paying clients – Telia in Estonia and Nordea bank in Finland. We are presently launching pilot projects with two additional clients. We have presented and validated our idea at large enterprises in both Estonia and Finland (Telia, Nordea, SEB, Swedback, TransferWise, Eesti Energia, Ergo, Bigbank, Elisa).

Market size:FeelingStream’s target market are large enterprises with contact centres, where one of the communication channels involves written correspondence, such as emails. The market for linguistic analysis is estimated to reach $5.9 billion by 2020. Europe makes up around 25% of the global market. FeelingStream aims to gain 2% of the market share within four years ($30 million).

Competitors: Competition between native text analytics providers is fierce in English-language markets. When it comes to smaller languages, solutions are few and far between. In Finland, Etuma is our closest competitor. In the US market, our main competitors are Medallia, Clarabridge, Verint, Monkeylearn, etc. Our competitors apply native text analytics mainly to social media. We delve deeper into the enterprise: customer service. In addition to analytics, we focus on providing precise further actions which, rather than just monitoring client satisfaction, would improve it.

Business model: Product sales take place through B2B sales to our target clients. We monetise from each text processed by our application.

Necessary resources: FeelingStream seeks to raise 150,000 EUR in investments over the next 6 months. We will use this for product development and activating sales in our target markets.

Foxcademy

“Foxcademy aims to build an international network of schools and improve education systems through data analysis. Our mission is to develop software that creates unimaginable new connections between students and teachers.”

Elevator pitch: Foxcademy is developing an interactive learning platform which allows students to become smarter and gives teachers new tools for tutoring. Dynamic teaching resources, such as 3D elements, interactive graphics, games and videos, make learning more diverse and engaging, while analytics tools provide teachers with new ways to monitor development. Today, more than 2,000 students from 70 different schools use our software, and we plan to scale extensively.

Problem: Revising textbooks is an expensive and long process. There is a lack of tools that can analyse students on an individual basis. Government institutions do not have access to diverse sources for data which would allow for real-time tracking of the education system and how it develops.

Solution: Foxcademy is developing a digital platform which has three key components:

– Cloud-based curriculum for students and teachers

– Real-time analytical feedback on learning processes and results

– Big data analytics which allows to understand the effectiveness of the curriculum on a macro scale

User base: Registration opened in December 2015 and so far we have over 2,000 registered users.

Market size:

Estonia 10 mln€

Sweden 111 mln€

Germany 600 mln€

United Kingdom 600 mln€

France 975 mln€

United States 3.840 mld€

Competitors: Our advantage? We have substance. The majority of our competitors offer .pdf textbooks, meaning that they transfer ordinary printed materials into a .pdf format. Such solutions do not meet consumer needs and fail to take advantage of the added value from analytics.

Business model: No other competitor provides textbook content in accordance with the national curriculum. Teachers prefer to match teaching resources with the national curriculum so that work with textbooks would not result in following the syllabus unevenly. Duolingo and Khan Academy are exceptional apps, but they do not correspond with the national curriculum, meaning that students do not receive sufficient preparation for their exams. As a result, teachers find it difficult to use such tools in their everyday work.

Levon

“We bring music education to everyone!”

Elevator pitch: Even though singing is one of the most popular ways for performing music, many people believe that they are unmusical and unable to sing.” In reality, over 90 per cent of people are capable of learning to sing. Levon allows anyone to learn to sing by using mobile, real-time and visual feedback.

Problem: Something as intuitive as singing should be for everyone. Meanwhile, a large number of people consider themselves unmusical, while in reality less than 10 per cent of people are unable to sing in tune. Present web-based singing tutorials assume that the singer can distinguish between differences in pitch. However, this approach does not allow people with weaker musical intuition to take part in the learning process.

Solution: To solve this, we propose Levon, a virtual voice monitor, which givers intuitive, real-time feedback to beginners as well as advanced singers. Levon has the following primary functions:

1) video-, image- ja animation-led learning resources;

2) recommendations based on machine learning;

3) real-time visual feedback;

4) progressive teaching methods;

5) opportunity to get feedback from professional vocal coaches

User base: We are currently undergoing confidential alpha-testing.

Market size: The global e-learning market value is estimated as 51.5 billion €, within which e-music training is valued at 4 billion €. Our aim is to reach 25 million downloads in three years.

Competitors: In the Anglo-American space, our primary competitor is SingingSuccess. The business is valued highly and it has a strong position on the market. It teaches singing via audio and video courses, also offering Skype lessons. Their weakness? They have made few updates to their product and business models over the years. In addition, they do not offer feedback or give any extra value to retain the client after their course finishes.

Business model: As we are dealing with a two-way market, our business model has both B2B and B2C applications. We will monetise the platform through a freemium-subscription model. Levon is a free application, but without a paid subscription access is limited. In addition to learning materials, premium users will also be granted access to a personalised learning plan, which is based on machine learning and takes into consideration students’ individual needs and the pecularities of their voice. On the B2B side, we will earn revenue through a certification fee which allows voice coaches to join our platform. Levon will also take a commission from voice coach revenue. This means that Levon also acts as a marketplace for bringing voice coaches and beginner singers together. In addition, Levon licenses can be sold to educational institutions.

Necessary resources: We are looking for our first round of investment in order to launch our beta-version and prove that there is market interest from users.

Pürg

“Pürg aims to create practical and aesthetic products for contemporary people who respect tradition but are keen to set themselves apart from the rest.”

Elevator pitch: Pürg’s pilot product is a college cap case which preserves the cap’s shape and protects it from dust and wear. Every year, 20,000 college caps are produced in Estonia alone, and there is a large community of college cap wearers also in Scandinavia, Europe and the rest of the world. Our products are made out of felt that has been sourced from recycled plastic bottles. Using the heat-press method, the felt is made strong, durable and waterproof. This makes for the perfect case that manages to protect its contents while looking elegant. Each college cap case can also be personalised with individualised symbols. Based on surveys and feedback from re-sellers, we can estimate that nearly 30 per cent of new college cap owners are also interested in purchasing a case for it. Currently, we have confirmed re-sellers in both Estonia and Sweden. We will begin sales in the Swedish market in autumn 2016, working with our re-selling partner to instill a new habit in two years: when you purchase a college cap, you will also purchase a college case. Our sales representative in Sweden sells 90,000 college caps every year. Offering a unique product in both Estonia and abroad, we want to be seen globally as a Nordic company that offers cool and serene Scandi products.

Problem: College caps are a widely recognised way to demonstrate school identity in secondary schools, particularly in upper secondary schools and universities. The vast majority of college cap owners are keen to protect their cap from any potential damage caused by weather conditions, dust, folding, etc. College cap owners have nowhere to keep their cap, leading them to store their college cap in ways that contribute to wear and tear.

Solution: We have created a case that is waterproof, durable and stylish, all thanks to industrial heat-press felt. The college cap case does not lose shape, meaning that the college cap remains well-protected. We have also found an everyday use for the college cap case – the case has enough room to store personal belongings (phone, wallet, keys). The case can also be personalised, so clients can truly set themselves apart by adding their original symbols. We wish to create a new tradition, making it elementary to purchase a case with every college cap. To achieve this, we are offering college cap manufacturers the opportunity to sell their product together with our case.

User base: Currently, 76 people use our product, including secondary school students, fraternity and sorority members, and university students.

Market size: Our customer is anyone who owns a college cap, be they high school or university students, fraternity or sorority members, alumni or even choir members. Every year, 20,000 college caps are ordered in Estonia, which provides the starting point for our evaluation of market opportunity. Meanwhile, in Sweden 120,000 college caps are produced and sold every year – we will be entering this market in the autumn.

RailReed

Elevator pitch: RailReed offers smart tools to weavers using handlooms. A fabric reed with adjustable wires enables the weaver to change warp thread density by group and vary fabric width. In addition to this, we offer online courses, workshops for instructors and unique textiles weaved with RailReed.

Problem: Weaving aficionados are seeking ways to create innovative textiles with the help of ancient fabric looms. Professionals are hoping to create a distinct product. Weaving instructors are looking for new topics that would inspire course participants.

Solution: RailReed is a fabric reed with adjustable wires, enabling people to weave fabrics that differ in density but have same arrangement. We weave textiles that demonstrate the vast opportunities offered by the tool at hand, distributing them in trade magazines, forums, and events. We will also offer workshops and demos.

User base: We reached our first customers through our press and social media coverage. So far, we have produced the beta-version for around ten clients in Europe and Australia. The cost of the product is 180€.

Market size: Thanks to eco trends, the number of people interested in handicrafts has grown in developed economies. In 2010, $30 billion was spent on crafts-related hobbies in the US alone. The total market size for handloom weavers (based on the circulation of trade publications, read by an educated and engaged weaving audience): 30,000 in the US, 30,000; 14,000 in Europe. Based on manufacturing capacity, we can sell 300-500 products in our first year.

Competitors: RailReed’s competitors are Open Reed ja Fan Reed (Ondule Reed). The solution offered by RailReed is innovative: it is faster to use and gives weavers more options.

Business model: RailReed’s price is reliant on module amount: the basic product consists of 5 modules and base structure (180€), and you can buy modules at a higher cost for the base support structure (18€). Sales channels: 1. Direct sales to customers who purchase the product online. 2. Offering workshops to instructors. 3. Selling textile tutorials as a service, with materials provided (Subscription-based, with tutorials sent on a running basis as long as the customer ends the subscription). 4. B2B. Co-operation with re-sellers for looms and related equipment (in Estonia, Finland and the US).

Sales pipeline:

– Promoting samples woven with RailReed in the media;

– Exhibitions;

– Introducing the product at trade conferences and workshops. Suzi Ballenger has asked for permission to present RailReed as part of her keynote at Convergence 2016. The event will bring together around 1,000 weaving aficionados from North America;

– RailReed BASIC model (180€). Various other innovative products for weavers using handlooms;

– Selling workshops to instructors (4 days = 300€). Creating an international community of users, including different applications on one central site;

– Continuing the sales of textile manuals as part of a 7-part course SKILL-CHILL (10€ per online class; 30€ per online class with materials included).

SprayPrinter

Elevator pitch: SprayPrinter is a device which allows to print smartphone images onto the wall. The founder came up with the idea when his daughter asked to have a unicorn on the wall, but he did not know how to draw it. To print an image with SprayPrinter, you need the device, a smartphone and our app, and some spray paint. You can use as many colours as you want. We consider professional interior designers, artists and DIY enthusiasts as our target clients. But it is open to anyone.

Problem: Designing an interior space according to personal taste takes time, money and skills. Particularly considering that people tend to tire of one solution after a while.

Solution: With SprayPrinter, you can decorate your walls, furniture, clothes, office or car however you want. While a picture wall is a one-off purchase, SprayPrinter can be used again and again for different solutions.

User base: The community behind SprayPrinter is made up of several layers. Firstly, SprayPrinter users, and secondly, artists who can sell their designs on our app. Every user can also upload pictures onto the app.

Market size: Around 13 billion units of spray paints were sold in 2015, and the trend is growing – by 2020, sales are expected to reach 15 billion units. The cost of one can of aerosol paint is approximately 5 euros, taking sales of spray paint in 2015 to around 65 billion euros and predicted sales by 2020 to 75 billion euros. SprayPrinter is expanding the market, as it brings spray painting to those who have not done it before. Therefore, thanks to SprayPrinter, the spray paint market will grow even further.

Competitors: Paint brushes and a can of paint. Posters, paintings, stickers. Anything you can hang on the wall.

Business models: The primary revenue comes from sales of SprayPrinter. Therefore we are looking for online and physical retail stores to promote and sell SprayPrinter. Secondary revenue comes from the marketplace where professional designers can upload their creation and users of SprayPrinter can download and use them. We are looking for strategic partners to scale up and to find new usages for the technology behind SprayPrinter.

Necessary resources: Currently, we have all the necessary resources to prepare for manufacturing, but we are in need of finances that would allow to begin production.

Wisemile

“Wisemile is a transport network that brings intercity and intracity ride sharing, taxi services and small package delivery all into one app.”

Elevator pitch: Wisemile is a transport network app, which spans ride sharing, taxi, and courier services, and is completely free and commissionless for individuals. We can thereby create a close-knit network that would allow us to apply entirely new business models. Our commercial focus is on businesses and courier services for e-tailers, as it will be significantly faster and cheaper to deliver small packages through the Wisemile network than any traditional courier. We see the biggest potential in the transport of food shopping, and Wisemile has already reached a deal with Selver. Working together, we will create the Wisemile online store which will offer the range of goods available in Selver branches across Estonia. Products from other supermarkets and smaller stores will also be added into the Wisemile online store in due course. When a client orders products through the Wisemile online store, a Wisemile courier will complete the order and the client will receive their products within an hour from ordering.

Problem: The ride sharing and taxi apps available today, such as Uber, Taxify or BlaBlaCar, all charge high commission fees. With Wisemile’s launch, this type of business model will no longer be sustainable for transporting P2P passengers. Until now, the biggest issue for e-food stores has undoubtedly been logistics – completing orders and transporting them to the client. Current logistical solutions make ordering from online stores an expensive and very slow process.

Solution: A P2P transport application that operates without commission fees will allow us to create a very extensive transport network, which will in turn enable us to offer businesses an inexpensive and fast courier service. We will create a Wisemile online food store, with Wisemile couriers processing, purchasing and delivering orders directly to the customer. It is a model that can be scaled with ease, as it will allow online stores to save on the costs of processing orders, thus growing their sales significantly. Customers will get a far speedier and more convenient service by ordering on Wisemile, delivering their ordered goods to them within an hour.

User base: Today, we have created an intercity ride sharing application which already has 10,000 users in Estonia, 40% of them being regular monthly active users. In the beginning of May we are opening the Wisemile taxi application that is free for all taxi drivers and ride sharers – Wisemile will not charge a commission fee for this service. This will help us create an extensive transport network, allowing us to offer a fast and inexpensive door-to-door courier service to businesses and e-tailers. Wisemile’s paying customers will be businesses that want to offer their customers a speedy, convenient and inexpensive delivery service. Wisemile will be trialled first in Estonia, and after the launch of the paid courier service, we will begin expansion into foreign markets.

Market size: Total online food store revenue in Europe is 30 billion EUR.In our first year in business, we want to reach 1,5 million EUR in revenue with our online food store service in Estonia, with Wisemile charging 5% commission, that is, 75 000 EUR. We estimate that online food store revenue in Estonia can ultimately reach 160 million EUR per year, which makes up 10% of total food store revenue. In the UK market, online food store revenue is currently at 5% of all revenue, but the market size for online food stores is growing at 20% a year.

Competitors: Wisemile’s competitors are traditional courier services, “collect yourself” solutions and a handful of P2P courier businesses active in the US and Asian market. We also consider P2P taxi and ride sharing applications as competitors, with the largest of those being Uber, Lyft and BlaBlaCar.

Business model: Wisemile will monetise through taking a percentage from e-tailer sales. The greatest potential lies in partnerships with online food stores whereby, in addition to transport, Wisemile couriers can also collect products from store shelves. This allows to offer the service from any store without the retailer needing their own order processing department in every physical store. We plan to create a Wisemile online store platform which will include partnerships with several food stores.

Necessary resources: Wisemile is initially developing its product and business model in the Estonian market. By now, we have created a ride sharing and taxi application which will allow us to grow our transport network. We are also building the Wisemile online store platform, but in order to develop, sell and market this product in the Estonian market, we will require an additional 400,000 EUR in funding. Once we have launched the product in Estonia, we are hoping to attract additional funding to expand to foreign markets.